Nine-member SIT to probe 'land encroachment' cases against Azam Khan, says Rampur district magistrate

Uttar Pradesh: A nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) is probing the alleged land encroachment cases against Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Azam Khan in Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh, District Magistrate Anjanaya Kumar Singh said on Tuesday. "We had received a slew of complaints in this regard, following which a nine-member SIT was formed", Singh told ANI.[caption id="attachment_3185838" align="alignleft" width="380"]

File image of SP leader Azam Khan. PTI[/caption]In 2014, Madarsa-e-Alia was given to Azam's Jauhar Trust on the lease of 90 years but he later built the Rampur Public School on the Unani Davakhana land and not the leased land, said the district magistrate.Singh alleged that Rampur's Murtaza Inter College was also given to the Jauhar Trust on lease for 30 years. "It was found that the college was run on one portion of the land and the other side had the Samajwadi Party office", he added.Singh said that all these allegations are being probed by the SIT team. On 21 July, locals, who had registered FIRs against Azam Khan in connection with land encroachment cases in Rampur district, had met Governor Ram Naik and demanded action against him.The total number of FIRs, as per the police, against Khan now stands at 26 in cases relating to land grab. Police said the complaints against him were verified and found to be genuine. The Uttar Pradesh government put the parliamentarian's name on the government's anti-land mafia portal earlier this week.